shah82 wrote:When you have that dry mouth, saliva washing it should release further flavors. That's part of the Banzhang mystique just as much as pungent huigans. If you have pucker mouth and it's not doing anything, probably not banzhang (or good banzhang), if it's young.

Good learning. Waiting to get that pungency on tongue one day...LBZ is not easy bushes

Today I enjoyed 1996 CNNP "Green Mark Te Ji" shu, a sample from Yunnan Sourcing. It is smooth, round, a bit sweet, almost creamy from the first infusion. Yes, it's better than the 2 to 5-year-old cheap shu I've been drinking but for me it's not THAT much better, not worth waiting 17 years for or paying so much more for. I don't know where it was stored, though. Anyway, today I have a special treat that complements the tea perfectly, a Northern Thai dessert made of coconut milk, coconut cream, and coconut meat in the middle, elegantly wrapped in banana leaf. Yum, not too sweet.

shah82 wrote:When you have that dry mouth, saliva washing it should release further flavors. That's part of the Banzhang mystique just as much as pungent huigans. If you have pucker mouth and it's not doing anything, probably not banzhang (or good banzhang), if it's young.

Good learning. Waiting to get that pungency on tongue one day...LBZ is not easy bushes

a quick sample of a 6 tea mountain brand tea cake (banzhang wild) i bought in 2003, sealed storage till now. its aging quite well, the brew's now reddish, cake's loosening up, i reckon in a year's time it will be transitioning and that will be fun (hopefully i wont finish the cake by then)

Remember, that 50 tons include the summer picking and the fall picking, and that's all the trees, good or not. The actual number for spring trees is 10 tons. 25000 cakes if all the real stuff was reserved for them.

The vast majority of LBZ produced after 2007 is not pure. Even people you like and rely on, such as the vendors that appear here or online, will have LBZ cakes, but it's simply not wise to take their claims seriously. If you like it that much, then it's worth the money. If you don't, then it's not.

shah82 wrote:Remember, that 50 tons include the summer picking and the fall picking, and that's all the trees, good or not. The actual number for spring trees is 10 tons. 25000 cakes if all the real stuff was reserved for them.

The vast majority of LBZ produced after 2007 is not pure. Even people you like and rely on, such as the vendors that appear here or online, will have LBZ cakes, but it's simply not wise to take their claims seriously. If you like it that much, then it's worth the money. If you don't, then it's not.

LBZ appears to have had a very brief reincarnation no? probably first serious incarnation was around 06-07? well as usual with anything chinese, i wouldnt be surprised that everything started deterioriating from then.

i had the great fortune of sampling a 07 LBZ, brewed by a tea master (he probably wouldnt like me calling him that though!) and i was hooked, out of god knows how many pu erhs and poo-erhs that i had drank over the decade, i was now ready to crown the LBZ as the king, considering that the tea i had drank was very well kept too.

we took it up to 20 brews, the tea was like an energetic wild horse, it kept charging the harder it was pushed, the first seven to eight brews were thick, rich, savoury, beyond which the body was still there and the fragrance kept persevering. i particularly liked the feeling of a quick hot gulp, and then and then exhaling through the nose, you could feel the fragrance blossom from within. yumyum...

Many teas, and the highlight is 2008 LBZ by another producer at my tea friend's house. First 10 brews, slight bitter but not astringent, medium to full body. 10-20th brews, sweetness emerged. He has 7 pieces and form part of his prized collection.

This friend own a restaurant and an antique business and has been a very long time tea drinker esp. in Yancha and Puer. He has a very good collection of tea and teapots. Occasionally he would me ask to pick one teapot as a gift to me from the display shelves. I always tell him that he will regret it if I pick one and decline his offer. Sometimes it is a test, so it is too good an offer even from a friend. In Eastern culture, many offer this out of courtesy and appreciation of friendship, but we must watch the borderline too....every time I am tempted but it is good to show some restrain in this kind of situation, to show our appreciation of friendship. It is a funny culture even to me. Haha!

shah82 wrote:Remember, that 50 tons include the summer picking and the fall picking, and that's all the trees, good or not. The actual number for spring trees is 10 tons. 25000 cakes if all the real stuff was reserved for them.

The vast majority of LBZ produced after 2007 is not pure. Even people you like and rely on, such as the vendors that appear here or online, will have LBZ cakes, but it's simply not wise to take their claims seriously. If you like it that much, then it's worth the money. If you don't, then it's not.

Also important to note that many, many teas will be listed as LBZ if they contain even the least amount of actual LBZ in them. It's all about marketing and "mark up".